I’m Renee, a South Louisiana wedding photographer striving to create blissful experiences and timeless images. As a former CPA, I live for organization, but my secret power is handling chaos with grace on wedding days. From rounding up rowdy wedding parties to bustling dresses, I’ve got your back - without missing a shot.
What is a good getting ready space? It doesn’t have to be fancy! It just needs two things: a clutter-free corner and a WINDOW! In fact, the more windows the better. If there is a lot of good window light, I will turn off all the artificial light in the room when we start taking photos and that makes for very flattering photos of you and your girls prepping! Your makeup artist will LOVE a big window too!
2. Gather details before the day starts
Having all your accessories and details together before the craziness starts means nothing gets lost or forgotten, and no time is wasted searching for anything. Also, I don’t have to bug you in the middle of your makeup application to ask where the garter is! To take your detail images to the next level, ask the florist to deliver the bouquets and bouts to the bridal suite!
3. Have a first look!
I could write a whole blog post on the merits of a first look (and will soon!) but for now I’ll keep it simple! The first look allows you to get TWICE as many photos of you and your groom on your wedding day! And I’m not just saying that number. I literally went through every one of my wedding galleries and actually counted the portraits! On average, first looks meant we took 114% more photos, and they were better with greater variety because we weren’t rushed to get to the reception!
4. Consider your ceremony time
This is especially important if you are having an outdoor ceremony, or an indoor one with no first look! The BEST time of the day to take photos is the hour or two before the official sunset time (easy Google search!) Keep that window of time in mind when planning your ceremony so that your portrait time falls during that golden hour!
5. Have an engagement session
The engagement session is SO important to your wedding images! Let me explain why! The first time getting in front of a photographer’s camera can be incredibly nervewracking (I”ve been there!) and it takes a good 20 minutes to warm up to it and get comfortable! Twenty minutes on a wedding day are sometimes all we have for pictures, and that can be even MORE stressful if its your first time posing! Not to mention, you will be spending a LOT of time with your photographer on your wedding day. It’s important that you get along well! Having an engagement session means we’re more like old friends by the time the wedding rolls around. Just how important is this time together? So important that I include an e-sesh FREE in every wedding package!
I hope these tips were helpful!! I know how much work goes into planning this day, and you deserve to have beautiful memories of it!
